Southwest Detroit Business Association CEO grew up in community she now leads

Laura Chavez grew up in southwest Detroit. It was not always easy, but with guidance and perseverance, she has become a leader in her own community.

From a young age, Chavez faced years of abuse from her mother's various boyfriends.

“He had basically almost beat me to death," Chavez said. “I remember vividly, my brother screaming to the neighbor upstairs, because we lived in a flat, 'help he’s killing her.'"

At 15, she decided to find her own apartment.

“I had been working at Danto Furniture for quite some time and I had saved about $10,000 and I knew that I could find something better, there had to be better for me," Chavez said.

We asked her how she used these experiences as a child and teenager to build herself up, rather than allow them to tear her down.

“I love that question and I get asked that question a lot. All I know that inside of me, failure was never an option," Chavez said.

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Now, Chavez is the President and CEO of the Southwest Detroit Business Association . She is the first Latina to hold the position.

“When this opportunity came to me, I couldn’t think of a better role to have, and I thought 'wow, I can truly make change in the community that truly supported me, through my hardest time,'" Chavez said.

She calls herself the daughter that Southwest Detroit raised.

“It was all of these different businesses , community leaders, organizations that just would not allow me to fail,” Chavez said.

She is fueled by the love for the community she grew up in.

“Everything that I do, the advocacy, the passion, the grit, the determination, the resiliency, the trying to find resources that truly are sustainable and that really make an impact in our community, it’s what I love," Chavez said.

She serves as a voice for more than 1,400 local businesses in southwest Detroit, including Candela on Verner Hwy.

“To have somebody guide me through the process of what it takes to actually open a commercial store front, that was where it was very critical to learn the process and do it correctly," the owner, Paula Anderania, said. “For her being Latina and a woman, it’s very inspirational.”

To Chavez, though, rather than inspirational, her role in the community symbolizes progress towards inclusivity.

“We’re serving a community that’s predominantly Hispanic. It means a lot to the businesses and to the community and the fact that I grew up here it actually doubles it," Chavez said.

She offered some advice on achieving success.

“I think that a lot of people don’t realize, just doing your job is going to get you to keep your job, but it’s asking those questions, it’s going that extra step, it’s doing that extra dig, that then you are offered opportunities that probably wouldn’t otherwise have thought were possible,” Chavez said.